Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

aerc VS Postfix

Compare aerc VS Postfix and see what are their differences

aerc logo aerc

Highly efficient and extensible email client for the terminal

Postfix logo Postfix

Postfix is a mail transfer agent (MTA) that routes and delivers electronic mail.
  • aerc Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-12
  • Postfix Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-15

aerc features and specs

  • User Interface
    Aerc offers a minimalist and efficient interface, ideal for users who prefer a console-based email client with keyboard-driven operations.
  • Customization
    It provides extensive customization options, allowing users to tailor their email experience according to their workflow needs.
  • Privacy
    With Aerc being open-source, users have greater transparency over its operation, contributing to a more secure and privacy-focused experience.
  • Efficiency
    Designed to run in a terminal, Aerc is lightweight and consumes minimal system resources, making it ideal for power users and developers.
  • Scripting Capabilities
    It supports integration with various scripting languages, enabling automation of routine tasks and enhancing productivity.

Possible disadvantages of aerc

  • Learning Curve
    New users, especially those unfamiliar with terminal-based applications, may find it challenging to learn and use effectively.
  • Limited User Base
    As a niche email client, the community and support resources are not as vast as more mainstream email clients, possibly leading to limited help for troubleshooting.
  • Feature Set
    Compared to graphical email clients, it may lack some of the advanced features or integrations that are available in more popular applications.
  • Visuals
    The text-only, terminal interface might not appeal to users who prefer a graphical user experience with rich media support.
  • Configuration Complexity
    Setting up accounts and customizing can be complex, requiring users to edit configuration files manually, which may not be user-friendly for everyone.

Postfix features and specs

  • Security
    Postfix is known for its robust security features, including strong defenses against spam and malware.
  • Performance
    Postfix is designed to be efficient under heavy loads, making it suitable for both small and large-scale email servers.
  • Compatibility
    Postfix is compatible with various mail protocols such as SMTP, making it versatile for different email infrastructures.
  • Reliability
    Postfix is highly reliable, offering consistent performance and uptime, which is critical for mail servers.
  • Configuration
    Postfix offers a flexible and understandable configuration system, allowing administrators to fine-tune the server settings as per their needs.
  • Community Support
    There is a strong community and extensive documentation available, providing support and resources for troubleshooting and advanced configurations.
  • Lightweight
    Postfix is relatively lightweight, ensuring that it doesn't consume excessive system resources.

Possible disadvantages of Postfix

  • Complexity
    Despite its powerful features, setting up and configuring Postfix can be complex, especially for beginners who are not familiar with mail servers.
  • Learning Curve
    There is a learning curve associated with understanding its configuration files and parameters, which can be daunting for new users.
  • Limited GUI Options
    Postfix does not come with a built-in graphical user interface, making it less accessible for users who prefer GUI-based management.
  • Dependency on Other Software
    Postfix often relies on additional software (like Dovecot for IMAP/POP) for full functionality, which can complicate setup and maintenance.
  • Debugging Complexity
    Debugging issues with Postfix can be complicated due to its extensive feature set and numerous configuration options.

Analysis of Postfix

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Postfix is considered good due to its reliability, security, and scalability. It is widely used in the industry and is continually maintained and updated, which ensures it remains a dependable choice for mail server needs.

Why this product is good

  • Postfix is recognized for its robust architecture, strong security features, and ease of administration. With its efficient handling of large volumes of email, it is a preferred choice for many system administrators. Additionally, Postfix has comprehensive documentation and an active community for support, making it accessible even for those who might be new to email servers.

Recommended for

    Postfix is ideal for businesses, educational institutions, or individual users who need a robust and secure email server. It is especially recommended for environments requiring high-performance and stable email systems, as well as those looking for a solution that can handle large-scale email distribution efficiently.

aerc videos

Control Check Exam, AERC Educational Series

More videos:

  • Review - Temperature controller (subzero) Arihant Electrical & Refrigeration Centre | AERC | part 2

Postfix videos

No Postfix videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to aerc and Postfix)
Email
46 46%
54% 54
Email Clients
79 79%
21% 21
SMTP Servers
0 0%
100% 100
Enterprise Communication
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare aerc and Postfix

aerc Reviews

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Postfix Reviews

10 Microsoft Exchange Server Alternatives
Postfix is an MTA that allows the user to receive and deliver electronic mail. The platform is open-sourced that is easy to administer, attempts to be fast, and a secure way for the usage of EM. It is also known by the names of IBM Secure Mailer and VMailer. Many of the systems that support Postfix runs such as AIX, BSD, HP-UX, LINUX, macOS, Solaris, Tru64 UNIX, etc. The...
15 Best iRedMail Alternatives 2021
Postfix is very emphatic when it comes to security. Like iRedMail, it is able to encrypt your sessions and perform certificate-based authentication to keep your mail services secure, private, and protected. Postfix also offers stress adaptive features and various content inspection methods to choose from.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, aerc seems to be a lot more popular than Postfix. While we know about 21 links to aerc, we've tracked only 1 mention of Postfix. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

aerc mentions (21)

  • Help Keep Thunderbird Alive
    I tried for a long time to work with Thunderbird, but what kept bothering me was that I couldnโ€™t simply define keyboard shortcuts. In the end, I landed on AERC and created my own extreme Vim-style keyboard configuration (the idea is to look at the list of mails like looking at a buffer in vim) for it. Iโ€™ve never been this fast when it comes to email. https://aerc-mail.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Show HN: InstantDB โ€“ The Modern Firebase
    How about (inspired by another HN post) - a rebuild of a TUI for email, given how its built: https://blog.sergeantbiggs.net/posts/aerc-a-well-crafted-tui-for-email/ https://aerc-mail.org/ It seems that building a version of this Aerc Email TUi with Instant is a completely doable? Might be an interesting tutorial to build out an Instant FroBenDB (Instant is an instant Front-BackendDB :-) --- btu the txtual nature... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Aerc: A Well-Crafted TUI for Email
    The official site has video of it in use. https://aerc-mail.org/. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Email and Git = <3
    You have some points, for some I do think it isn't as bad as you write. FWIW, some comments inline. > - You can't subscribe to a single PR/bug/feature-request thread. Subscription to the mailing list is all-or-nothing. And no, setting up email filters is not a reasonable solution. You can use tools like public-inbox or lei, the former is hosted for bigger projects on https://lore.kernel.org/ If you're interested,... - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
  • git-appraise โ€“ Distributed Code Review for Git
    > Another problem is how badly email threading is displayed in these clients. Email UI is still abysmal. Fair point. However, given that the current alternative is "use another service entirely (e.g. GitHub)", I think it would be fair to assume that devs could choose a good e-mail client and learn how to format such e-mails correctly. It works for Linux, for instance. I started using Aerc, and I love it:... - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
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Postfix mentions (1)

  • OVH VPS Postfix can't receive external emails
    Read the documentation on postfix.org and/or buy one of the many available Postfix books (it really helps to understand the Postfix philosophy). Source: over 5 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing aerc and Postfix, you can also consider the following products

Mu4e - Starting with version 0.9.8, mu provides an emacs-based e-mail client which uses mu as its back-end: mu4e.

Exim - Exim is a message transfer agent (MTA) developed at the University of Cambridge for use on Unix systems connected to the Internet.

MailMate - MailMate is an alternative email client that was designed for the macOS.

Sendmail - Sendmail is a general purpose internetwork email routing facility that supports many kinds of...

Mailspring - Mailspring is a mail client for Mac, Windows and Linux.

qmail - qmail is the name of an advanced level of mail transfer agent for the UNIX based operating systems.